- Joe Rocks
Joe Rocks is a former
Pennsylvania State Senator andPhiladelphia mayoral candidate, currently working in the mental health profession. Rocks made mental health issues a cornerstone of his platform as both a state senator and later a candidate for Mayor, and he was also known for fighting for greater oversight of fiscal spending. During his time in thePennsylvania State Senate , Rocks, a Republican, created the PICA board [ [http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/3705/media.html Media bias ] ] to monitor all spending by then mayorWilson Goode and the city council. All money spent by the city government had to be approved by the board. Mr. Rocks was widely praised for his work in this area, and it led him to run for Philadelphia City Controller in 1989, where he lost to Democrat Jonathan Saidel. [http://www.northeasttimes.com/2001/0131/saidel.html Northeast Times] ] Despite the unsuccessful campaign, the publicity from the election propelled him to the republican nomination for Mayor in 1995, where he was unable to unseat incumbentEd Rendell .Throughout his career in politics, Rocks was known as a fighter and an aggressive campaigner. His campaign against
Allyson Schwartz in 1990, when he lost his State Senate seat, was particularly bitter [http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/10100892.htm?1c] , with negative campaigning from both sides. Among the more wild accusations was the assertion from the Schwartz campaign that Rocks had an alcohol problem and engaged in promiscuous behavior. The comments had apparently been prepared as a joke by a staffer, released accidentally, and Schwartz apologized, but the campaign became increasingly acrimonious from that point forward.Upon leaving politics Rocks turned his career towards the mental health field, where he has led a dramatic turnaround [ [http://www.nhsonline.org/pages/press.htm Welcome to Northwestern Human Services ] ] of one of Pennsylvania's larger mental health providers. He is remembered as a dedicated public servant, and praised for his current work helping the mentally disabled.
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Philadelphia City Council References
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